Adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun&#39;s rays, rain or other atmospheric agents

ABSTRACT

An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect an area underneath the covering from sun&#39;s rays, rain or other atmospheric agents. The device includes a plurality of louvers engaged by a plurality of rods, which make a pair of pantograph mechanisms, the latter constrained to guiding section bars by carriages. The guide section bars have a groove shaped to contain an involute worm, the axis of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of development of the guiding section bar and a longitudinal groove able to retain and allow the sliding of the carriages. The ends of the louvers are constrained to an end of a pin, which constrains a pair of rods at the middle line, and is provided with a toothed wheel, which meshes with the involute worm when the pantograph is in the fully extended configuration thus determining the rotation of the louvers.

The present invention relates to the field of shading structures used to obtain an adequate covering and protection from the sun and from the rain. In detail, the model relates to a mechanism for actuating adjustable covering louvers used in shading structures, which may be folded, when needed, by means of a pantograph mechanism.

As known, an arbor is a modular structure consisting of a plurality of elements assembled so as to guarantee shaded zones in external environments and covering to protect from the rain. Conventional arbors generally consists of at least two vertical pillars, if the arbor leans by one side on a wall, or of a plurality of pillars in all the other cases, and of at least two longitudinal beams and two transversal beams which confer rigidity to the structure and which work as resting elements of the covering, which may consist either of a sunshade or of a series of adjustable louvers.

In the latter case, the known arbors are provided with a device substantially consisting of a lever which allows to orient the louvers constituting the covering as a function of the atmospheric conditions in order to determine a greater or lesser exposure to the sun's rays or to the atmospheric elements and guarantee a greater ventilation to the zone under the arbor.

Although they can determine a good exposure of the part underneath to the sunlight, the known arbors with fixed louver covering do not allow a full exposure of the zone underneath because of the impossibility to fold the adjustable louvers, unlike the coverage formed by a retractable sunshade.

Furthermore, arbors with retractable louvers coverage are known, but in this type of structures the louvers are actuated and folded by means of complex chain or jointed aim mechanisms, the latter additionally consisting of a high number of mechanical components having the purpose of obtaining the rotation of the adjustable louvers about an axis and the folding thereof in order to obtain a greater lighting and ventilation of the covered compartment.

Thus, the louver actuating and folding mechanisms have a series of drawbacks, which include high structural complexity, consequent high production cost and high number of components needed for operation.

Furthermore, the louver actuating and folding mechanisms require a higher number of maintenance operations because of the high number of components needed for operation.

Object of the present model is to provide an adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect the zone underneath said adjustable louvers from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents, which has greater simplicity of construction and operation with respect to the folding mechanisms of known type.

A further object of the present model is to provide an adjustable louvers folding and rotating mechanism which has a low number of mechanical elements needed to obtain the rotation of the louvers about their axis and which allows the movement in order to fold the louvers themselves on one side of the arbor.

Another object is to provide an adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect the zone underneath said adjustable louvers from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents, which allows to fold the louvers and to adjust the tilt of the louvers when the covering is fully extended.

A last object of the present model is to provide an adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism, which requires a lower number of maintenance interventions with respect to the mechanisms used in the coverings of known type.

These and other objects, which will be more apparent from the following description, are achieved by the adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect the zone underneath said adjustable louvers from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents of the present model, of which a preferred embodiment which does not limit further developments of the field of the model is described below with the help of drawings which illustrate the following figures:

FIG. 1 is an exploded axonometric view of the adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism;

FIG. 2 is an axonometric view of the mechanism with the adjustable louvers in step of full extension;

FIG. 3 is an axonometric view of the mechanism with the louvers folded.

With reference to FIG. 1, the adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism comprises a guiding section bar 1. Such a guiding section bar 1 has a longitudinal groove 1 b with a substantially cylindrical, partially open section which is reminiscent of a “C” shape, for housing an involute worm 2, and a longitudinal groove 1 a, the object of which is to work as a rail for the sliding of a plurality of carriages 6.

The guiding section bar 1 may be made by means of an extrusion or press bending process of welded metal sheets. Furthermore, the cross section of such a section bar 1 must have appropriate width and shape to guarantee mechanical strength to bending, torsion and cutting stresses. Said shape may be tubular, rectangular, polygonal or single wall.

With reference to FIG. 1, the mechanism may further comprise a plurality of rods 3, each of which is hinged by means of a pin 7, to other rods 3′, 3″ at the ends 3 a and 3 b. Furthermore, each rod 3, by means of a pin 4, is hinged in turn to a further rod 3″ at its middle line 3 c. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the connection thus described between a plurality of pairs of rods 3 allows making a structure 8 known as “pantograph”. Such a pantograph 8 is constrained to the guiding section bar 1, and moves in direction parallel to the guiding section bar 1 determining the extension or retraction of the covering louvers (not shown) which will be connected to it at the pin 4.

The connection between the rods 3, having the purpose of obtaining such a configuration, allows different points of the system to obtain the same movement. In particular, the first carriage 61 will be constrained at the end 11 of the profile 1 and the remaining part of the carriages 6, the pantograph 8 and the covering louvers can translate at the same time in the longitudinal direction of the section bar 1 by means of the connection obtained between the aforesaid components by the pantograph 8.

Furthermore, the rods 3 are made of metal or different material and are appropriately dimensioned in order to withstand the stresses which derive from the actuation and folding of the adjustable louvers connected to said rods 3, as shown in FIG. 2 in which the louvers are in the fully extended configuration and in FIG. 3 in which the adjustable louvers are in the folded configuration. The connection between the pairs of rods 3 at the middle line 3 c is obtained by using a pin 4. Said pin 4 is constrained by one end 4 a to the adjustable louvers (not shown) and by the other end 4 b to a toothed wheel 5.

In such a manner, the contact and thus the meshing between the involute worm 2 and each of the toothed wheel 5 is achieved when the rods 3 are in the configuration in FIG. 2, consisting in the full extension of the pantograph 8, which corresponds to the full extension of the adjustable louvers so as to guarantee the covering of the zone underneath the arbor.

When the meshing between each toothed wheel 5 and the involute worm occurs, following the rotation of the involute worm 2, the rotation of the louvers is obtained about the axis of the pin 4 with the consequent opening/closing of the covering.

The rotation of the worm 2 may be achieved by means of actuating means of electrical, mechanical pneumatic or hydraulic nature. Other members for reduction of number of revolutions, angular transmissions or other belt or chain systems may be used to obtain said rotation.

In a different configuration, the rotation of the toothed wheel 5 may be achieved by translating a rack placed in a corresponding groove on the guiding section bar 1.

As shown in FIG. 3, the extension and retraction movement of the pantograph 8 occurs in direction parallel to the guiding section bar 1. The rods 3 are also hinged by the ends 3 a in contact with the guiding section bar 1 to the carriages 6. Said carriages 6 are constrained to slide in the longitudinal groove 1 a of the guiding section bar 1 by means of anti-friction wheels 6 a made of plastic material or steel. The translation of the carriages 6 in the groove 1 a may be achieved by constraining the first carriage 62 to a belt 9, which may be actuated by an electric motor (not shown). 

1. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents, comprising a plurality of louvers for covering an area underneath, said louvers being arranged parallel to one another between a pair of guiding section bars perpendicular to said louvers, each of said louvers being able to rotate about a longitudinal axis thereof and said covering louvers being engaged to a plurality of rods constrained to one another so as to form a pair of pantograph mechanisms, the latter being constrained to said guiding sections by means of carriages so as to be able to either extend or retract in direction parallel to the longitudinal development of said guiding sections between a fully extended position of the louvers and a folding position of the louvers themselves, said mechanism being characterized in that said guiding sections comprise a partially open longitudinal groove shaped so as to contain an involute worm, the axis of which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of development of said guiding section bars, and a longitudinal groove able to retain and allow the sliding of the carriages and parallel to said groove being characterized in that the ends of said louvers are constrained to an end of a pin, said pin constituting a cylindrical hinge which constrains a pair of rods at the middle line and said pin having on the other end a toothed wheel, the latter being suited to mesh with the involute worm when said pantograph is in fully extended configuration, the rotation of said involute worm being able to obtain the rotation of the louvers about the axis of the pin.
 2. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein each pantograph mechanism comprises a plurality of rods, each rod being hinged by means of cylindrical hinges to other rods at the ends and and hinged by means of a pin to a further rod at the middle line thereof.
 3. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 2, wherein the rods are hinged to carriages on the ends in contact with the guiding section bar.
 4. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of the involute worm is achieved by means of actuating means of electric, mechanical, pneumatic or hydraulic nature.
 5. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein the carriages are constrained to slide in the longitudinal groove of the guiding section bar by means of anti-friction wheels.
 6. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein the guiding section bar has a tubular, rectangular, polygonal section or is of the type with one wall.
 7. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein the rotation of said toothed wheel is determined by the translation of a rack.
 8. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein the first carriage is constrained to the end of the section bar, and the last carriage is constrained to a belt able to obtain the translation of the carriages in the groove.
 9. An adjustable louvers folding and rotation mechanism able to protect from sun's rays, rain or other atmospheric agents according to claim 1, wherein said belt is actuated by an electric motor. 